Ozark man killed in ‘officer-involved shooting’

An Ozark man is dead following an “officer-involved shooting” that occurred at approximately 4:55 p.m. Monday, May 2. No law officers were injured in the incident.

Samuel Ed Farnam Jr., 44, was fatally injured after Dale County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to an Ozark-Dale County E911 a call of a “rolling domestic incident” with shots fired on Highway 123 South, between Newton and Ozark.

DCSO’s Public Information Officer Chief Deputy Mason Bynum said that DCSO patrol deputies intercepted the suspect’s vehicle as it entered the Ozark city limits. “Deputies observed the suspect strike the victim’s vehicle as they were approaching,” Bynum said. “The deputies attempted to conduct a traffic stop but a pursuit ensued.

“The pursuit entered Ozark and the suspect began to travel northbound in the southbound lanes of Highway 231. As the pursuit neared the intersection of Highway 231 and Deese Road a deputy performed a Pursuit Intervention Technique maneuver, disabling the suspect’s vehicle,” Bynum added. “At the conclusion of the pursuit deputies discharged their weapons in order to apprehend the armed suspect.

“As standard practice with any officer-involved shooting we have turned over the investigation to ALEA’s State Bureau of Investigations,” Bynum said. “All further comments will be through an ALEA spokesperson.”

ALEA’s Public Information Officer Sgt. Jeremy J. Burkett said that at the request of the DCSO, the SBI is investigating the incident. “Noting further is available as the investigation is ongoing,” he said. “Once complete, the findings will be turned over to the Dale County District Attorney’s Office.”